Pittman Innovation Awards

“Every sailor’s ditty bag ought to have one of these things in it,” proclaimed one of our judges. Many of those ditty bags will, of course, belong to racers (dinghy sailors in particular will like the flying cleat for handling loaded working lines more comfortably), but we think cruisers will ultimately find the most creative uses.

Doyle’s Anomaly headboard solves these dilemmas by affixing the head of the sail to a detachable composite “carriage,” which is attached via a 2:1 tackle to the top sail car on the mast track. When raising sail, halyard tension automatically pulls the carriage into the car where a toggle locks it in place. No more having to attach the head of the sail to the track manually.

Once onboard, your iPad or iPhone becomes a wireless remote display, and the e7’s Bluetooth connectivity also allows you to control your MP3 music remotely from the helm. A compact Bluetooth remote is also available, and the e7’s LightHouse interface is intuitively structured to make the system easy to operate.

The Extreme harnesses Iridium’s proven global voice and data satellite system, and offers plenty of day-to-day value to both racers and cruisers. In addition to providing voice, e-mail and position-tracking connectivity with those at home, the Extreme, which includes a dedicated programmable SOS button, will be invaluable in emergency situations.

Freeman K. Pittman, SAIL’s technical editor for many years until his death in 1996, was respected throughout the sailing industry for his great appreciation of excellence and technical innovation in sailing gear. Each year SAIL editors scour the boat shows for the best of the new products on the North American market—the kind of gear that Freeman would have loved. For 2006, editor Peter Nielsen

A fully networkable alternative to individual gauges, the T41 was designed with both cruisers and club racers in mind, and offers a lot of engineering bang for the buck. The Micro-C Simnet backbone allows you to daisy-chain other T41s and connect a sounder, compass or Triton masthead sensor, thereby delivering a competitively priced anemometer that uses the same internal components found in B&G’s top-tier 3000 series.

As SAIL's enthusiastic and knowledgeable technical editor, Freeman K. Pittman was one of the those people who left a lasting impression on everyone he met. He's remembered by many in the industry as a true connoisseur of excellence and a keen student of technical innovation in sailing equipment. Freeman passed away in 1996, and since then SAIL has worked to keep his memory alive by seeking out

While the 3G has longer legs than Navico’s first broadband unit, the BR24, which lost its edge at ranges beyond six miles, it’s the 4G that is the real “long ranger” when it comes to target acquisition. With 50 percent more maximum-range detection ability, the 4G stands tall among 18-20in dome antenna units, behaving more like a big-league open-array unit than comparably sized competitors.

Edited by David SchmidtBy definition, sailors are gearheads. Whether it’s a new sail, new electronics, or even a new mainsheet, they’re eager to put their new gear through the paces. Few people recognized this love of gear and need for innovation more than the late Freeman K. Pittman, SAIL’s technical editor from 1982 to 1996. Freeman was widely regarded by members of the marine

The SD units range from small canisters suitable for a toolbox up to sizes capable of drying out large interior spaces. SAIL contributing editor Nigel Calder uses an SD to keep his boat’s freezer from icing up. The AVDs feature a transparent cylinder with end caps for connecting to a fuel tank’s vent plumbing.